1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an electrical connector for connecting an integrated circuit (IC) module, such as a central processing unit (CPU) module, to a power source.
2. The Prior Art
With the development of electronic industry, operation speed of CPUs is significantly increased. To support such a speedy operation, an independent power supply may be required for supplying stable electrical power to the CPU. Furthermore, to ensure a continuous supply of power, the mechanical structure of the power connector must be reliable. A lot of different connectors having complicated structures are available in the market. Such connectors may be modified to serve as a power connector. However, such complicated structures make them unreliable as compared to connectors having a simple structure. An example of the complicated power connectors is disclosed in the co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/549,155 filed on Apr. 13, 2000 and assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
Furthermore, exchange of signals, including data and commands, between a CPU and other components of a computer also requires a connection between the CPU and the components. It is preferable to combining the signal connection in the power connector for reducing the amount of space occupied thereby.
It is thus desired to provide a power connector overcoming the problems discussed above.